There were a number of 35mm still cameras using perforated movie film prior to the Leica. The first patent for one was issued to Leo, Audobard and Baradat in England in 1908. The first full scale production camera was the Homeos, a stereo camera, produced by Jules Richard in 1913. It took stereo pairs, 18x24 mm, with two Tessar lenses. It was sold until 1920. The first 35mm big seller was the American Tourist Multiple, also appearing in 1913. The camera cost $175 in 1913. By today's standards that's the equal of a $3000 Leica. The first camera to take full frame 24x36mm exposures seems to be the Simplex, introduced in the U.S. in 1914. It took either 800 half frame or 400 full frame shots on 50 ft. rolls. The Minigraph, by Levy- Roth of Berlin, another half frame small camera was sold in Germany in 1915. The patent for the Debrie Sept camera, a combination 35mm still and movie camera was issued in 1918, but was not marketed until 1922. Finally the Furet camera, made and sold in France in 1923 took full frame 24x36mm negatives and was the first cheap small 35mm camera to look vaguely like today's models. Although Oskar Barnack designed his prototype camera around 1913, the first experimental production run of ur-Leicas (Serial No. 100 to 130) did not take place until 1923.

Click on picture to see large model

Produced

Model

Innovative characteristic

Lense

Picture

Jens Poul Andersen

35 mm camera - 1905

This one of the four 35 mm cameras built in 1905 by Jens Poul Andersen in Nellerod, Denmark: The simple lens on the 1905 Andersen 35 mm camera consists of two plano-convex lens elements mounted in a brass barrel with provision for four fixed aperture settings of f/5, f/8, f/10 and f/15. The guillotine shutter provides a single shutter speed of 1/100 sec. The camera body is made of mahogany wood and has the shape of a flat box (somewhat like a brick) with the dimensions of 208 x 45 x 85 mm. The camera weighs 500 grams. It accepts a maximun of 20 m of perforated 35 mm film, enough for apprximately 300 exposures. The format is 24 x 60 mm. Courtesy for text and picture Mr. Rolf Fricke.

Made in Denmark

simple lens

Ambrosio Torino

35 mm camera - 1905

The Ambrosio camera would not hold much interest if it was probably the first camera to use 35 mm film, the body is cast aluminium with an oxidized silver plated brass cover. The lens is removable. It is a 50 mm Zeiss-Kraus anastigmat with an iris diaphragm. The guillotine shutter is tensioned on the front and has only one speed and B. The camera is designed for 100 frames 45mm x 30mm on unperforated cine film with a sensor counter. At that time the makers of film left it to the user to perforate his own film according to his own preference, Lumiere or Edison. A very original mechanism monitors the progress of the film. A mini punch cuts out a small hole on the edge of the film in the middle of the frame. A small spring loaded plunger in advance of the film snaps into the hole stopping the advance of the film. The only other known camera bears the inscription "Ambrosio Torino" and the number 14 and has a Reichert lens."Courtesy for text and picture Mr. Arnaud SAUDAX.

Vertically styled body, leather covered, Tourist Multiple became the first commercially produced 35mm camera to be sold (although it had been on the market sometime toward the end of 1913), probably about 1000 cameras were ever made (McKeown, 1994). It contained a 50 foot magazine with enough film for 750 half frame exposures 18x24mm, shutter 40 - 200. There was also a multiple projector (film strip) available for $100.00.

the first 35mm camera was the "Homeos" (1913) a year before Oskar Barnack's "UR" prototype. And it was 1925 before the first production Leica hit the market, fixed focus, diapphragm: f/4.5, f/6.3, f/8, f/10 e f/20

Made in France

Krauss Tessar 1:4.5/28

Multi-Speed (New York)

Simplex Multi-Exposure - 1914

Historic 1st Production 24x36 Full Frame 35mm Camera. Multi-speed shutter Compound 00, 1/300, 800 exposures 18x24 or 400 24x36 in 3 different versions: only half format, only full format and a Simplex Special with dual full frame and half frame. The rarest pre-Leica and the most valuable today 35mm camera.... Five, possibly six are known, maybe only 27 producet at all.

Made in USA

Baush&lomb Zeiss Tessar 1:3.5/50

E.Suter

E.Suter prototype - ?

E. Suter, Bâle. Reporter camera for 250 pictures, image size 24 x 24 mm, shutter "Gitzo" 1/25–1/100 sec., B + T. A very interesting characteristic is its ringing bell sound at each picture taken.E. Suter was a lens and camera maker, founded in 1878 in Basel, Switzerland. It was the first factory size camera business in Switzerland.

Made in Switzerland

Staeble Doppel-Anastigmat Tessaplast 5,5/60

Schoenander

Schoenander - ?

Special 35mm camera for 375 pictures 24x24mm on 9m special cassetes. A very interesting characteristic is its ringing bell sound at each picture taken.

Made in Sweden

Leitz 1,5/5cm Xenon Lens

Ernst Leitz

UR Leica - 1914

Oskar Barnack works on the design of a camera for 35 mm motion picture film. The result materializes early in 1914 with the legendary "Ur LEICA", vindicating the concept "small negative large pictures".

Made in Germany

Levy Roth

Minnigraph - 1915

50 exposures 18x24 on 35mm film in special cassettes. The first 35 mm camera made in Europe.

Made in Austria

Anastigmat 1:3.5/54

Kodak

00 Cartridge Premo - 1916

Six exposure roll film, 32x44 mm format box camera, the first in Kodak for little format.

Made in USA

not know

FACT

Autocinephot - 1918

Original camera planned from Tartara and named Autocinephot, equipped with a spring motor and can carry out seven various functions, camera, cinema camera, floodlight, magnifier etc. The shutter like a cross of Malta said about however the main employment like cinema camera rather than as camera very soon the licence comes yielded the French manufacturer André Debrie who producted it with the Sept name.

On october 26, 1921, mr.Hewit and mr.Beaufort in London done a brevet (number 28.455) for a camera that used cine-film, with film advance and cocking shutter done to prevent double exposure (very similar to Tenax, adopted many years after by Zeiss), with the possibility to charge film in light by special cartridge. Format 23x31mm, central shutter from 1sec to 1/300, little reflex finder and after Albada-galileian, the project was abandoned after few years.

Made in England

Cook f3.1/50

Morsolin

Argus - 1921

In the 1921 Francesco Morsolin introduces the Argus camera that employs 35mm perforated film and had an autonomy of about one hundred of format negatives 30x45mm. The camera comes constructed in a limited pieces number, perhaps only five hundred, but Paris camera maker Krauss produced e really similar camera: Eka !

Made in Italy

Tessar 1:4.5/50, Koritska

Goerz

Prototype

Multiformat camera, it's possible to set camera to take 18x24 or 24x24 or 24x36 pictures.

Made in Germany

Goertz

Victor Houssin

Le Phototank - 1922

A strange project by french Henri Bayle, 50 exposure 18x24mm on 35mm.

Made in France

Berthiot Stellor 1:3.5/50

Dr. Rudolph

Cosmos 35 - 1922

Dr. Rudolph's Spezial-Kamera Cosmos 35, c. 1922 Green leathered metal camera, dimensions without lens and fittings 65 x 105 x 38 mm. Exceptionally important in several respects: 1) An early "Plasmat 2/35", no. 251.373. The Plasmat was the "Kino-Plasmat" for 35 mm film, here in a testing camera for the whole 35 mm size. Slight corner vignetting visible. - 2) Dr. Rudolph as manufacturer. He left the Zeiss company already in 1920, not least because of differences of opinion about the Plasmat production. - 3) Very early German 35 mm camera. - 4) Very unusual shutter with 7 sec. delayed action! - 5) Fast lens. Lens speed of 1:2 was sensationally. - 6) Classic modern angular shaped camera design, with green leathering. - Worldwide the only known "Cosmos 35".

Fantastic Early Night Camera »Kamera Rapid« (Prototype), from Dresden. Apparently this is a special design and development. With extraordinarily fast "Caleinar 1:1,5/6 cm" lens. Today only one piece known world-wide!".

Courtesy of the Voncabbage collection

Made in Germany

Caleinar 1:1,5/6 cm

Ernemann

Prototype

No news about this camera, from lens it appears manufactured by Ernemann.

Courtesy of the Voncabbage collection

Made in Germany

?? cm

Ernemann

Prototype

No news about this wonderful camera, from lens it appears manufactured by Ernemann.

The upper and lower lids appear in aluminum while the back swing is not fixed on the pressure with a clip. The vulcanite covering the body is well made and a lot of details that can be inferred from the photos (eg. Knob forward and rewind, the shape of the window frame counter etc) suggest a project born not in the basement but in a well-equipped laboratory .

Made in ?

F.Koristka cine sideran f.3,3 F 50 mm

Seischab

Esco - 1922

Another early half-frame. Speeds from 1 - to 1/300. 400 17x24 pictures. 2 versions, with dial-set compur or with ring-set, like Leica Compur.

Like the Sico but leather covered and with a little different design, Compur shutter 1-300.

Made in Switzerland

Dagor f6.8 Double Anastigmat or Sico f3.5 Rüdersdorf Anastigmat

E. Guérin & Cie.

Furet Camera ver.1 - 1923

Small, early 35mm camera for 25 exposures 24 x 36mm using special
cassettes. This is the smallest of the pre-Leica 0 35mm cameras.

Made in France

Hermagis Anastigmat 1:4.5/40

E. Guérin & Cie.

Furet Camera ver. Compur - 1924

Compur shutter. matricule very low: 8

Made in France

Berthiot Stellor Series 1 1:3.5/44

E. Guérin & Cie.

Furet Camera ver.2 - 1924

different advance film lever.

Made in France

Hermagis Anastigmat 1:4.5/40

Debrie

Sept Camera - 1923

Spring driven motor camera for still pictures, sequential pictures or movies. When a circular lid was removed from the back, the camera could be placed in front of a light source and act as a movie projector. 18x24mm on 35mm in special 5m cartridges.

Made in France

Roussel Stylor f3.5/50

Ernst Leitz

Leica 0 - 1923

Preproduction series of 31 cameras, Serial #100-130, hand-made in 1923 & 1924. Since the focal plane shutter was not self capping on the first seven examples, they required the use of a lens cap which was attached with a cord to a small bracket on the camera body. This feature was retained on the second batch even though they had a self-capping shutter. The viewfinder (either folding or telescoping type) is located directly above the lens.

Camera was invented by Etienne Mollier in 1909/1910, but only a few copies have been made (and sold without sucess ...). He won the golden médal of the "Concours Lepine" the same year with this invention. I have this information from the memoir of Mollier, which has just been published under the title "Memoirs of a inventor "edition of the Harmattan.

Thanks for these infomations to

ERIC HURTADO

Made in France

Zeiss TESSAR 3,5/4cm

Krauss

Eka ver.1 - 1924

Dial set Compur- Serial shutter. Took 100 exposures on paper backed 35mm film. Helical focusing. The first version has frontal plate Chrome with "flame" on chrome. Different logo position on top, Lense different form second version.

Made in France

Krauss Tessar 1:4.5/50

Krauss

Eka ver.1 - 1924

Dial set Compur- Serial shutter. Took 100 exposures on paper backed 35mm film. The first version has frontal plate Chrome with "flame" on chrome. probably adapted in factory for industrial use. the accessory is connected to focusing lense and allow to control on matt glass the correct focus.

Made in France

Krauss Tessar 1:3.5/50

Krauss

Eka ver.2 - 1925

Dial set Compur- Serial shutter. Took 100 exposures on paper backed 35mm film. This version has frontal plate black without "flame".